nightmares after ashtanga (buuuuh!)

[Guest guest]

Hello friends of Ashtanga!<br>My wife (40) is

doing Ashtanga for about 1/2 year and practice the

first four or five asanas. In every time she begin with

a new asana and all the time she has nightmares at

times and wonder when it will stop. She want to get a

good feeling after ashtanga-practice, a good sleep and

no nightmares... any experience to tell here? Lu

from germany

[Guest guest]

Hi, I was hoping someone more experienced might

be able to answer your message, but since nobody

has, I'll comment. Does your wife have a good teacher?

This is probably a good subject to discuss with a yoga

teacher.<br><br>I suspect that this sort of thing is fairly common.

I don't think I get nightmares specifically after

yoga (I'm prone to nightmares regardless!), but

sometimes disturbing or unpleasant thoughts have surfaced

while I am in savasana.<br><br>In "Dynamic Yoga" by

Godfrey Devereux, he discusses some of the practical

considerations of yoga in Ch 9. He mentions some of the physical

effects and cautions, but also mentions the possiblity of

"emotional discharge". Basically, the practise of yoga has

the potential to not only change our physical

patterns, but also to disturb underlying emotional blocks.

This may be part of what your wife is experiencing.

Devereux also warns that "imbalanced practise can create

its own unnecessary disturbances". I suspect a

teacher would be able to help your wife determine if she

is doing a "balanced" practise.<br><br>Good luck and

Namaste!